Sewing machine



Feb. 14, 1939. E. c. zABLocKl 2,147,006

SEWING MACHINE Filed MarChZS, `1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l uuml" N V EN TOR. E17/gene ZdZac/z'.

:L E /afzl E' 26 n ATTORNEY Feb. 14, 1939.

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Patented Feb. 14, 1939 A 2,147,006

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEWING Eugene C. Zablocki,. Detroit', Mich., assignor to Briggs Manufacturing Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application Meren- 23, 19.36, seriar No. 70,345

` claims. (ci: i12-2.45)

. Thisv invention relatesv to a mechanism and suchasathe. bed.' of the machine, omitted to simmethod particularly adaptedA for forming lines of plify the drawing.

stitching in trim panels for vehicle bodies or the Fig;.5;i's.aview similar-toFig. 4 showing a stitch like, and has for an object, broadly, the provision being tightened.`

`5 of simple means and a methodl for stitching pad- Fig` 6 is a view similar to. Fig. 4 showing the 5A ded trim panels and for ltightening each stitch completion ofthe-stitch tightening operation. after it is completed., y Before explaningsin detail. the present inven- The present fashion'in interior trim for autotion. itis. to be understood that the invention is mobiles calls for trimA panels of relatively stiff not limited in its application to the details of iiber board or thelike covered with flat padding construction and` arrangement of Vparts illustrated 1o and fabric upholstery material and with several in. the accompanyingv drawings, since the invenverticall lines of stitching forming deep vertical tion isi capable ot other embodiments and of being creases in the upholstered surface, the stitches practiced or carried. out invarious ways. Also being hidden in the bottoms of the creases. If it is toA be understood that the phraseology or an attempt is made to produce suchpanels with terminology employed herein is for the purpose of l5 the sewing-machinesl that are at present on the descriptionL and@ not 0f-"1mitati0n, and it iS 110'@ market, it is found that the stitches are not intendedtoelimit the invention` claimed herein beformed tightly enough to compress the padding yondf'thelrequirementsv of theV prior art.

' under themto any appreciable extent. The re- While the invention is` susceptible of applicasult is that the stitching createsonly al shallow tion to-many4 types of sewing machines and may 20 groove in the upholstered surface and the thread beformedas'- an integral part'- thereof, its present is clearly visible. The object of this invention is commercial form consists of an attachment apspecically the provision of a sewing machine plied' to the standard type of double chain stitch which will pull each stitch very tightl after it is machine known as the Phales Maniplex.

--completed so that, when it is'used for stitching- Thislmachine (of which only aportion is shown' 25 upholstered trim panels, the upholstery fabric inthe drawings consists of' a flat horizontal bed will beV pulled down into the padding along the alongfwhifchthe material-or work |10 to be stitched Vline of stitches into adeep crease. 1s` moved at theproper speed by conveyer chains Another object of this invention is to provide a travelling in` grooves in the bed and having upvmeans for tightening stitches that can be readward; projections? adapted to engage the work. 30 ily adjusted and that involves no bearings notA The work illustrated comprises'aV stiff, cardboardotherwise required bythe machine. like material'A Illa forming'the backing of a trim` Another object of this invention is to provide a panel, a layer of fibrous padding |011, and a sheet means for tightening stitches that can be readof upholsteryA fabric lilc lyingv one on top of the ily attached to existing sewing machines. other. 35

. Other objects of this invention will appear in lIfhe stitching mechanism comprises a portion thefollowing description and appended claims, abovethe bed which carries the needles II and a reference being had tothe accompanying drawportion` below the bed-A which carries the loopers ings forming a part cf this specification wherein I2'A which cooperate with the needles to form the 40 like reference characters designate correspondstitches. 'Ihe needle carrying and actuating 40 ing parts in the several views. mechanism is carried by a bridge I3 extending Fig. v1 is a perspective View of the upper part across above the bed of the machine and comof thestitching mechanism of a sewing machine prisesl a plurality of units', only one of which is embodying the present invention,v showing the shownv in the drawings since they' are all alike.

' needle bar at the lowest point ofits path andthe Each of these units comprises a mounting block 45 tightening mechanism in operation. M' secured tothe bridge |35 and extending down Fig. 2 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 1 toward the bed of the machine. The lower end but showing the needle bar at the highest point of the mounting block is curved forward and in its path. forked to form a pair of alined horizontal bear- Fig. 3 is a sectional view through an upholings Ila which carry the pivot l5a of an upwardly 50 stered trim panel stitched by the machine, taken extending needle bar guide I5. on the line 3-3 of Fig. l. A needle bar I6 is vertically slidable in the Fig. 4 is a partly diagrammatic view showing needle bar guide I5 and extends up to the mechthe stitch and the stitch forming mechanism just anism which actuates it. This mechanism moves before a stitch is to be tightened, with many parts, the upper end of the needle bar I6 in a path which 55 extends back, down, forward and up, so that the needle bar I6 is simultaneously reciprocated up and down and rocked back and forth about the pivot of the guide'block and the needles II on the lower end of the needle bar are successively moved forward, down, back and up. 'I'hese movements and the movement of the work I0 across the bed of the machine are so synchronized and related that the needles I I are moving backwards with and at the same speed as the work I0 during the part of each stitch forming cycle in which they extend down into the work I0.

The needles II extend into material through slots I'I in a presser foot I8 carried at the lower end of a presser foot bar I9 whichis slidably mounted in guides on the mounting block I4. The presser foot I8 is urged down against the material being stitched by springs 20 and 2| acting on the presser foot bar and has ribs IBa on its lower face in line with the needles II to press down the padding Ib along the lines to be stitched.

'Ihe portion of the stitch forming mechanism under the bed of the machine comprises the loopers I2, one for each needle II, and the mechanism to actuate them.- This portion of the ma-v chine is not affected by the presentinvention and therefore only the working end of the looper I2 is shown or described herein.

The present invention consists of a means for tightening the thread 22 leading to the needle at just the instant thatthe needle II reaches its lowermost position and is pulling tight the stitch previously formed. The particular embodiment' of the invention shown in the drawings com,- prises a thread tightener 23 adjustably bolted to the needlebar guide I5 and arranged to project up between ltwo horizontally spaced thread guides 24 which are mounted on a U-shaped bracket 25 on the needle bar I6. These parts are arranged and adjusted so that the two thread guides 24 come down level with the top of theV just before the needle bar I6 reachesy tightener 23 the end of its downward stroke. Because of this arrangement, the needle thread 22, which leads from a spool 26 through a tensioner 21, thence through the two horizontally spaced guides 24 and down to the needle I I, comes into contact with the tightener 23 and is pulled up tight like a bowstring, just as the needle .II reaches the bottom of its stroke. As shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the tightening meansZS-and 24 vpulls the needle thread 22a along in the stitch being formed and tightens the thread 22h in the stitch behind it, compressing the padding Ib under the thread 22h in that stitch so that the thread 2211 lies well below the level ofr the fabric I0c resting on top of the padding I0b at each side of the line of stitching. Once the stitch is pulled down tight in this way, it is heldfthere by the loop 22C at its end projecting through the work I0 between it and the next stitch 22a'and engaged by one loop 28a and engaging the next loop 28h of the looper thread 28. Thus, the line ofy stitching makes a decorative depressed line in the surface of the upholstered panel and more securely holds the fabric I0c to the backing member Illa than if the padding Ib were uncompressed and the stitches rested on the surface of the material.

I claim:

1. In a sewing machine having a needle bar adapted to be reciprocated endwise, thread tensioning means and a needle carried by the needle bar, a U-shaped bracket carried by said bar, a pair of spaced thread guides mounted on said bracket in a plane substantially perpendicular to the needle bar, and a relatively stationary thread tightening member placed so that the two thread guides move slightly past and at either side of the thread tightening member as the needle bar approaches the end of its stroke towards the work.

2. In a sewing machine having a guide, a needle barfadapted to be reciprocated endwise in the guide, thread tensioning means and a needle carried by the needle bar, the improvement which d consists of a pair of thread guides secured to the needle bar and spaced apart in a substantially horizontal plane in front of and at an angle to the needle bar, and a thread tightening member fixed with respect to the guide and projecting away from the work to a point past a line joining the two spaced thread guides when the needle bar is atits position closest to the work.

3. In a sewing machine having a frame, a guide, a pivot connecting the guide to the frame, a needle bar slidably mounted in the guide and adapted to be simultaneously reciprocated endwise and rocked with the guide about the pivot, and a thread tensioning meansand a needle Y carried by the needle bar, the improvement which consists of a pair of thread guides carried by the needle bar and spaced apart in a plane at an angle to the needle bar and a thread tightening member ilxed with respect to the guide and projecting away from the work to a point reached by a thread extending between the guides as the needle bar approaches the end of its stroke towards the work.

4. In a sewing machine having a needle bar adapted to be reciprocated endwise, a guide for said needle bar, thread tensioning means and a needle carried by the needle bar, a thread guiding bracket also carried by said bar, and an adjustable thread tightener located below and cooperable with said bracket and carried by said guide for tightening up the thread between the tensioning means and the needle as the needle bar approaches the end of its stroke towards the work.

5. In a sewing machine having a needle bar adapted to be reciprocated endwise, a guide for said needlebar, thread tensioning means and a needle carried by the needle bar, a bracket also carried by said bar, spaced thread guides carried by the bracket, and means located below said bracket and engageable with'the thread between said thread guides for tightening the thread as the needle bar approaches the end of its stroke towards the work.

EUGENE. C. ZABLOCKI. 

